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Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Valentine Countdown Blitz 12 Days of Clean Romance Day 2

Donna Hatch is the author of the
best-selling “Rogue Hearts Series,” and a winner of writing awards such as The
Golden Quill and the International Digital Award.

A hopeless romantic and
adventurer at heart, she discovered her writing passion at the tender age of 8
and has been listening to those voices ever since. She has become a
sought-after workshop presenter, and also juggles freelance editing, multiple
volunteer positions, and most of all, her six children (seven, counting her
husband).

A native of Arizona who recently transplanted to the Pacific
Northwest, she and her husband of over twenty years are living proof that there
really is a happily ever after.

When charming rake Tristan Barrett sweeps Lady Elizabeth off her
feet, stealing both her heart and a kiss in a secluded garden, her brother
challenges Tristan to a duel. The only way to save her brother and Tristan from
harm—not to mention preserve her reputation—is to get married.

But her father, the Duke of Pemberton, refuses to allow his
daughter to marry anyone but a titled lord. The duke demands that Elizabeth
marry Tristan’s older brother, Richard, the Earl of Averston. Now Elizabeth
must give up Tristan to marry a man who despises her, a man who loves another,
a man she’ll never love.

Richard fears Elizabeth is as untrustworthy as his
mother, who ran off with another man. However, to protect his brother from a
duel and their family name from further scandal, he agrees to the wedding,
certain his new bride will betray him. Yet when Elizabeth turns his house
upside down and worms her way into his reluctant heart, Richard suspects he
can’t live without his new countess. Will she stay with him or is it too
little, too late?

Tristan snapped his head back and
stepped away. Alone, Elizabeth wobbled on her feet. Her brother, Martindale,
stalked into view, bristling like an angry dog.

With his hands held out, Tristan
faced Martindale. “My lord, we were merely—”

“None of your lies, Barrett.”

Other voices made exclamations of
delighted horror. Elizabeth faced a nightmare; most of the houseguests stared
at her, including one of London’s worst gossip, Lady Einsburgh. Naturally they
would assume the worst. Heat crawled up Elizabeth’s neck and burned her cheeks.
She’d never live down the humiliation. Closing her eyes, she clamped her mouth
shut to avoid screaming at the injustice of it all. She’d only desired a few
moments alone with the man she loved. Instead, she’d been caught in an intimate
embrace in a dark garden. Gossipers would spread an exaggeratedly sordid tale
all over England. She’d be utterly ruined.